Heat sink clip and assembly

The present invention relates to a heat sink assembly, and particularly to a heat sink assembly incorporating a clip which can conveniently mount the heat sink assembly to a heat generating unit.

As computer technology continues to advance, electronic components such as computer central processing units (CPUs) are being made to provide faster operational speeds and greater functional capabilities. When a CPU operates at a high speed in a computer enclosure, its temperature can increase greatly. It is desirable to dissipate the generated heat of the CPU quickly, for example, by using a heat sink attached to the surface of the CPU in the enclosure. This allows the CPU and other high-performance electronic components in the enclosure to function within their normal operating temperature ranges, thereby assuring the quality of CPU data management, storage and transfer. Usually, a clip is required for mounting the heat sink to the CPU.

One conventional heat sink clip is shown in US. Pat. No. 5,671,118. The heat sink clip comprises a body and a movable fastener. The body has a locking arm at one end thereof, and has a securing portion at the other end thereof. The movable fastener has an operation handle at an upper portion thereof, and a locking foot at a lower portion thereof. The movable fastener has a punch hole between the operation handle and the locking foot for receiving the securing portion of the body therein.

However, it is difficult to operate the heat sink clip. To generate a downward pressing force against the heat sink via the heat sink clip, it is necessary to press the operation handle downwardly to thereby secure the locking foot of the movable fastener to a retention module. Pressing the operation handle into position requires a lot of force, and it is not easy for the operator to mount the locking foot onto the retention module.

Therefore, an improved heat sink clip for a heat generating unit which can overcome the above problems is desired.

A heat sink clip comprises: a body, an actuating member and a movable fastener. The body has a securing portion formed at one end thereof. The actuating member has a hinge portion. The movable fastener is secured to the hinge portion of the actuating member. The actuating member is pivotably mounted to the securing portion of the body in a direction substantially perpendicular to the body, and the actuating member is turnable relative to the body between a locked position and an unlocked position.

Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will be drawn from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention together with the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a heat sink assembly in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a heat sink clip of the heat sink assembly of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3A is a side elevation view of FIG. 1 partially assembled;

FIG. 3B is another elevation view of FIG. 1 partially assembled;

FIG. 3C is a side elevation as in FIG. 3A showing the assembly completed;

FIG. 4 is an assembled view of FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a heat sink clip in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a heat sink assembly in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a heat sink clip 100 , a heat sink 50 , a retention module 60 , a printed circuit board 70 and a heat generating unit 80 such as a CPU. The retention module 60 surrounds the heat generating unit 80 mounted on the printed circuit board 70 , and the heat sink clip 100 cooperates with the retention module 60 to secure the heat sink 50 onto the heat generating unit 80 . Each of two opposite sides of the retention module 60 forms a locking block 62 extending outwardly therefrom. The heat sink 50 has a plurality of upright radiation fins 52 for dissipation of heat, and a locating groove 54 in a middle of the heat sink 50 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the heat sink clip 100 comprises a body 10 , an actuating member 20 , a movable fastener 30 and a pivot 40 .

The body 10 comprises a spring plate 12 . The spring plate 12 is a substantially V-shaped resilient metal plate. The spring plate 12 has a locking arm 14 integrally formed at one end thereof, the locking arm 14 is disposed perpendicular to the spring plate 12 , and the locking arm 14 defines a mounting hole 142 therein for fastening to the locking block 62 at one side of the retention module 60 . The spring plate 12 has a securing portion 16 at the other end thereof. The securing portion 16 defines a slot 162 through top and bottom sides thereof. The securing portion 16 has a pair of bearing plates 164 extending upwardly therefrom. Each of the bearing plates 164 defines a groove 164 a at an upper portion thereof.

The actuating member 20 comprises a main body 22 . The main body 22 has a hinge portion 24 at one end thereof. Each of two opposite sides of the hinge portion 24 forms a revolving shaft 242 extending outwardly therefrom. The revolving shafts 242 are pivotably mounted in the grooves 164 a of the body 10 in such a direction that the actuating member 20 is substantially perpendicular to a main axis of the body 10 . A pivot hole 244 is axially defined through the hinge portion 24 , and the pivot hole 244 is closer to the other end of main body 22 than the revolving shaft 242 . A groove 246 is radially defined through the hinge portion 24 across the pivot hole 244 . A plurality of teeth (not labeled) is formed on a top face of the other end of the main body 22 for facilitating manipulation of the actuating member 20 .

The movable fastener 30 is an elongated metal plate member corresponding to the locking block 62 . A pivot hole 32 is formed in an upper portion of the movable fastener 30 . A mounting hole 34 is defined in a lower portion of the movable fastener 30 . One side of the movable fastener 30 forms a step 36 , and the other side of the movable fastener 30 forms a step 38 . The step 36 and step 38 are located between the pivot hole 32 and the mounting hole 34 . The step 38 is above the step 36 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , in assembly of the heat sink clip 100 , the actuating member 20 is pivotably mounted to the securing portion 16 of the body 10 through the revolving shaft 242 and the grooves 164 a in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main axis of the body 10 . The upper portion of the movable fastener 30 is then inserted through the slot 162 of the spring plate 12 into the groove 246 of the actuating member 20 from a bottom side toward a top side thereof. The pivot 40 is then fastened to the pivot hole 32 of the movable fastener 30 and the pivot hole 244 of the actuating member 20 to pivotally secure the movable fastener 30 to the actuating member 20 and the spring plate 12 . The actuating member 20 is pivotable from an unlocked position to a locked position where it pulls the movable fastener 30 upwardly to fasten with the retention module 60 . When operating the actuating member 20 , the step 36 is used to avoid interference between the movable fastener 30 and the securing portion 16 (see FIGS. 3B and 3C ). The step 36 is always located below the securing portion 16 at the other end of the spring plate 12 of the main body 10 .

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , in assembly of the heat sink 50 onto the retention module 60 , the heat sink 50 is placed on the retention module 60 , the spring plate 12 of the body 10 is placed in the locating groove 54 of the heat sink 50 . The mounting hole 142 of the locking arm 14 and the mounting hole 34 of the movable fastener 30 are then respectively sleeved onto the locking blocks 62 of the retention module 60 , after which, the actuating member 20 is turned from the unlocked position (see FIG. 3A ) to the locked position (see FIG. 3C ), and the movable fastener 30 is consequently moved upwardly to fasten with the retention module 60 , and the actuating member 20 compels the body 10 downwardly to thereby secure the heat sink 50 to the retention module 60 , keeping the bottom surface of the heat sink 50 in close contact with the top surface of the heat generating unit 80 .

Referring to FIG. 3C and FIG. 4 , at the locked position, the pivot 40 is located on the right of the revolving shaft 242 , and the bottom of the hinge portion 24 rests on the step 38 of the movable fastener 30 , the heat sink clip 100 is therefore in a self-locking state.

When unlocking the heat sink clip 100 , the actuating member 20 is turned from the locked position to the unlocked position, the user can then easily remove the heat sink clip 100 from the retention module 60 .

It is easy to understand that the pivot hole 32 can be larger than the pivot 40 , wherein the movable fastener 30 can still fulfill its function.

FIG. 5 , shows a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. Each of the bearing plates 164 defines a pivot hole 164 b therein, and has a handle 164 c extending slantingly from the upper portion thereof. In assembly of the heat sink clip 100 , the two handles 164 c are pulled in opposite directions, and then the actuating member 20 is pivotably mounted to the bearing plates 164 of the body 10 through the revolving shaft 242 received in the pivot holes 164 b . The actuating member 20 , the movable fastener 30 and other portion of the body 10 of the second preferred embodiment are the same as in the first preferred embodiment.

It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.